Dhamma Talks
Peter’s 2017 Year End Retreat Report
The theme for this retreat was Adaptation And Surrender, continuing to explore the concepts presented by Rodney Smith. During the last posting of December, Peter referred to his book "Stepping Out Of Self-Deception"; the retreat addressed the concepts presented in...
Opening To Stillness
During this talk, Peter described his intentions for his upcoming annual two-week self-retreat, organized around applying the concept and practices derived from reading (multiple times) "Stepping Out Of Self Deception-The Buddha's Liberating Teaching Of No-Self" and...
Benefits Of Lovingkindness
During this talk, Peter described lovingkindness as an expression of the Wisdom aggregate of the Noble Eightfold Path, that is, Right Intention (which he renames Benevolent Intention). The four Divine Abidings were described: lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic...
Mike’s Retreat Report
It is customary for sangha members to have the opportunity to review an important retreat experience upon their return. Mike attended a 5 day retreat at the Bhavana Society, the monastery created by Bhante Gunaratana, a very well-respected Dharma teacher. Mike spoke...
The Refuge Of Gratitude
It is the custom of the Orlando Insight Meditation Group to dedicate the Thanksgiving Eve talk to the topic of gratitude. Peter described the Three Refuges of traditional Buddhism, that is, taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha from a different perspective: ...
The Dharma And The 12 Steps
An important factor in developing the process of awareness is to live a balanced and serene life. During recent posts, Peter emphasized various psychological dysfunctions that hinder this development, and recent posts described how the Dharma can address addictions...
Codependency And The Dharma
Two weeks ago, the posting focused on Addictions and the Dharma; last week's focus was on Relationships and the Dharma. It seems reasonable to discuss how addictions affect relationships in the form of codependency. Peter, who is a Certified Addictions Professional,...
Relationships And The Dharma
In the Upaddha Sutta, the Buddha explains to his attendant Ananda the crucial importance of relationship for realizing the Four Noble Truths (the quote is found in the notes attached to this posting). Modern psychological research validates this belief--we are...
Addiction And The Dharma
This talk continues the exploration of how Buddhist principles and practices can benefit mental health, in this case, addiction. Peter is a Certified Addictions Professional as well as a psychotherapist, therefore he presented a view of the nature of addiction that...
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder And The Dharma
This week's discussion continues to explore the benefits of Buddhist psychology and mental health. Peter began the talk by reading an article on PTSD and the aftereffects of the war in Iraq to demonstrate the currency of this problem in our culture. He described the...
